Pele believes Celtic faced the greatest player in the world when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick against them in Barcelona's 7-0 thrashing of the Hoops on Tuesday night.
Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers had pointed out Uruguay's Luis Suarez as the top man in Barca's much-vaunted three-prong attack which also includes Neymar.
While Pele's fellow Brazilian scored once and Suarez grabbed a brace, the Argentinian superstar again showed his class on a night where the Scottish champions were swept aside.
For many people Pele, who won the World Cup three times, is the best player the game has produced.
Speaking at a packed media conference in a Glasgow hotel before he was star guest at 'An Evening with Pele', where he was to face a question and answer session with football fans from across Scotland, he was asked who was the number one in the world this year.
He said: "I could mention some names but what has happened in the last 10 to 15 years, I think Messi is the player who was the most consistent all those years, no doubt.
"We have had a lot of good players. Then Cristiano Ronaldo came late but it is different because Messi is the more organised, he scores goals.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is like the Ronaldo from Brazil, he is a good scorer no doubt, but to me as a player it is Messi."
When asked who of the Brazilian players playing in the Premier League impressed him particularly with Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, Willian and Oscar of Chelsea offered as examples, he replied: "Coutinho is the player who everybody in Brazil two or three years ago was disappointed because he was not in the team (for the Brazil World Cup).
"Some people joked that Brazil didn't win because they didn't have Coutinho in the team. He was one of the well-known players.
"Of course we have a lot of players in Europe but to me Coutinho was one of the best players who was supposed to be in the national team."
Asked what advice he would give budding young footballers, the former Santos player said: "My father was a good centre forward, he is the record scorer with his head in Brazil with five goals in one game. His name was Dondinho.
"He used to tell me, listen, you never, never think you are the best and you know everything.
"You always have to do better. Never think you know everything, that was the advice I got from my father and I pass that on to young players today."
Source: PA
